Christmas Cookies!!

Every year we made lots and lots of Christmas cookies. Or as Ray says you make 'em and we eat 'em. There is one cookie that I prefer not to make alone, press cookies. The kids always look forward to watching daddy press them out on the cookie sheet and choosing with cookie should be what color.


All of this loading the cookie press and watching mommy make the cookie dough, makes for one tired little Gretchen.

Here come the cookies!!

By request of Gretchen, there are pink flowers. The green Christmas trees in the previous picture are courtesy of Mr. T. :)

Indianapolis and Band finals

Friday afternoon we headed down to Indy for Aunt Lynnette's state marching band finals. The kids did great in the car considering neither one of them felt the greatest. I think they were just excited with the idea of sleeping over in a hotel.
Once we got to the hotel they both headed straight towards the pool. It was quite chilly so we settled for a little time in the hot tub. Then it was off to bed. If only it was that easy. Not much sleep happened at all.
Saturday morning we up early and off to Lucas Oil Stadium. I think this was probably the highlight of the weekend for Ray and I. It was so huge and we had heard so many wonderful things about it. Ray's mom had warned us about parking and coming early. We lucked out and found this awesome spot just across the street and it was FREE!!

The view from the parking spot. (Not zoomed in at all.)

The kids and Ray all decked out in their Concord Marching Band shirts trying to find Aunt Lynnette. We found some seats at the end of the stadium which worked out well. There weren't many people around so the kids could talk and move around as they pleased.

This little monkey got very antsy near the end. He was also concerned about making it home in time for trick-or-treating. He asks nearly every day if we can go to another hotel to sleep over. I think there might be another short little get away in our future. Maybe Spring Break little man, maybe. :)

Halloween

This year Halloween was a very busy weekend for us. Friday afternoon we left for Indy to cheer on Aunt Lynnette in her band finals. This was the first experience for the kids in a hotel and lets just say everyone didn't get much sleep. Saturday morning we were up early for her competition and then headed home. We made it home and had to be out the doors for trick-or-treating in a half hour. The kids were real troopers.

Handy Manny and Ariel were the choices for their pumpkins this year.

Handy Manny and Snow White ready to head out to trick-or-treat.

It took them awhile to get the hang of it but once they didn't they loved it. Gretchen enjoyed seeming some of her classmates while we were out and about.

Unfortunately this is only picture of the Gator dressed up as Handy Manny's red car that I got with the camera. I will have to check with Ray later to see if he got any on his phone. The kids loved driving it around the neighborhood instead of walking. You can also notice in the back their is a stash of batteries just in case. Ray set it up for headlights in the front and there's a light bar in the back too for when it got dark cars could see them coming.

Still Young

Ever since Gretchen started talking, she has referred to her grandparents by their pets. I'm not sure where she got this from but she still does it today as well as Trevor. There's Grandma & Grandpa Nala and Grandma & Grandpa Lucky. I'm not sure what she's going to do when the pets pass away. They are very old and I believe that time is coming upon us. Oh well, this blog post isn't about that.

Instead it's about Grandpa Nala. It's his birthday. We won't tell how old
young Grandpa Nala is but Trevor says he's not old yet. (Trevor is starting to notice the difference in peoples' age and looks.)

We should have known from the start that you to would be 2 peas in a pod.

We couldn't have asked for a better involved Grandpa than you. The kids love going on Gator rides with you.

And then there's the trip to the zoo. Trevor gets very excited when he sees this picture and it reminds him of all the fun he had that day.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Nala!!

A good little reminder

Mr. Big Stuff

With Gretchen off at school, Mr. Big Stuff and I have been spending lots of quality time together. Let me just say that this little man wears me out all by himself. He's one big heap of energy.
Our first and most important item of business to take care of once Gretchen started school was potty training. Mommy hit the whip and after a few days filled with accidents we were good to go. The Lightning McQueen underwear can be spotted daily in this house. We have our occasional accidents at night which seem to be related to bad dreams. He now refers to himself as a Big Boy.


Mr. Big Boy is quite the helper. He spends most mornings helping me do the dishes. Most of the time he ends up having to change his shirt as he gets confused about where the water goes and does not go. Fridays you can find him chasing after me as I clean the house; whether that be chasing me with the toilet bowl brush or trying to get the sweeper. He likes a clean house too.

I think this picture sums him up quite well. He is quite the stinker! That last few months he has become more and more ornery.

Since Gretchen left for school, Duckie seems to be a security blanket. He makes trips to the grocery store with us and goes to church with us on Tuesday to clean. However, he has spent many times going round and round in the washing machine.

Mr. Big Stuff loves to cook. Almost daily he asks to make some cookies. I think he just likes licking the beaters. He can normally be spotted next to Ray on Saturday and Sunday mornings making breakfast.

That's our Big Stuff. He's quite the guy. Mommy & Daddy love you Mr. Big Stuff!!

Franklin comes to Visit

Soon after Gretchen started school, she started talking about Franklin the stuffed turtle. Franklin goes home with one of the kids on Friday and they bring him back on Monday with stories and pictures of their weekend. Every Friday morning for the past month Gretchen has been hoping and praying that it would be her time to get him for the weekend. Well, Friday was her lucky day. She got off the bus with an extra backpack and a big huge smile. It turned out to be a great weekend for her to have him, Aunt Lynnette was having a Halloween party on Saturday evening for her band.
Friday evening the kiddos and Ray headed out to the farm to get some straw for a straw ride Saturday evening. Trevor was having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Franklin was not ours and would be returned to school on Monday morning.

The kids up in the barn loft out at the farm. They love being out there. Mom didn't enjoy the cow smell they brought home with them. :)

I'd say Franklin had a good time with Gretchen and Trevor. Trevor was sad to see him leave this morning and made sure to give him an extra hug and kiss.

Goodbye Jeep!!

Last Christmas as part of Ray's present he bought a truck. The Jeep had been having problems and acting up which it made it very unreliable for us. Ray needed something more reliable and more practical. The Jeep had served us 6 years but it was time to part ways. The kids, however, didn't like this idea at all.

Ray and of course his little helper doing one last check of the oil.


Ray parked the Jeep in the front yard and I set out to taking pictures of it. We decided our best bet was to list it on Craigslist and just see what happens. There was just one slight problem, Duckie and Mr. T thought they needed to be in every single picture. I had to explain numerous times that were selling the Jeep and not him and Duckie.

I'm happy to say the Jeep is no longer a part of our family. After a few days of adjusting to the fact that it is gone, the kids seem to be happy too.

Changes

Changes are in the air. Summer is official over in our house. The biggest change was Miss Gretchen started kindergarten today. I'll have to admit I was a little sad to see her leave and worried that all day would be a lot for her.

All dressed and ready for her first day.

I asked them to smile and Mr. T gave me his cheesiest smile ever. Notice Duckie had to come out and say goodbye to sister too.

Take 2

A few last moments by herself

Poor Mr. T didn't know what to do once we went back inside. About 30 minutes after she had left, he came up to me to inform me that Gretchen was at school and we needed to go pick her up. She was gone long enough for him. He didn't leave my side much that day. I wish I had taken a picture of her getting off the bus and how excited he was too see her.

Crossroads Playground

Crossroads Community Church has this beautiful playground they developed last year. Every time we drive by the kids ask if they can go there and play sometime. We had tried earlier this spring but it was closed. I had told the kids we would tried later this summer when it was warmer out. With Gretchen starting school tomorrow, I thought this would be a great way to end the summer. It was a nice warm not too hot day.

This tall spiral slide was very popular with Gretchen. Trevor wasn't too sure about it since it was dark inside.

This little boy would climb up the stairs to the top of the tower and then yell down at me to tell me which of the 3 slides he was going down. He wanted to make sure I was at the end to see him come down.

This seems to be a site we are seeing more and more lately - his tongue sticking out while playing. I think he gets it from his uncle Matt. :)

After a good morning of playing and chasing at the playground, we headed home to have a lunch picnic out in the backyard. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and gearing up for school the next day.

Peaches and Beach time

On Saturday we headed up to Michigan to pick some peaches. The kids love eating peaches and get a kick out of being able to pick them themselves. I didn't get many pictures as the day turned out to be a hot one and the picking went fairly quickly.

Gretchen showing off her peach.

We decided to head to the beach since it was such a gorgeous day out. Silver Beach was not far from the peach field. However, we had no idea there was a big car show going on. We settled on going to the beach on the other side of the pier which isn't so popular. It turned out to be a great decision.

Gretchen showing off her Baywatch moves.

Need to make sure we stay hydrated.

We then took a walk on the pier to see the boats coming in and out. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the different types of boats.

Monkeys.. and not just my 2

We try to take the kids to the Ft. Wayne zoo every summer. Last year my parents took them and this year we knew we wanted to head back with them. Ray took Friday off of work and off we were.

There are my 3 monkeys!! :)

These 2 were 2 peas in a pod all day long. The good news was that it was the first trip where we didn't have to drag the wagon along. It was so much easier!!

There was some serious concentration on brushing the goats.

He found out that banging on 2 drums was way better than just one.

The giraffes were more enjoyable for Trevor when they were no in his face. Not a fan at all.

The kids behaved so well and had a great time.

We always know the trip was great and worth it when this little boy falls asleep the moment we turn out of the parking lot. Too much walking for these little legs.